Old PC, New video card. Help!!

Hi Everybody,

I'm using an old Dell Dimension 4600 PC with Windows XP service pack 3
It has an Intel pentium 4 , 2.80ghz and 2.25 GB Ram

That's about as technical as I can get.

I have a webcam streaming live on Ustream and I am using
an Adobe flash media encoder for the camera.
This morning for the first time I had a crash and it said that my pc video
card doesn't support directX.
Until this morning I have been streaming at 30 frames per second but now I barely get 10fps.
Can I replace the video card with a new one or is my pc too weak or too old to do that?

Thanks for any help in advance.
Cheers.

 

I neglected to mention I have 37.2 gb hard drive.18.2 free space.

 

Off the top of my head ^^ it reads like the driver for the graphics card failed and the driver was replaced by the Windows standard driver, which doesn't support many features. What happens after a reboot?

 

I cannot forsee any problem that you would come across if you installed the correct type of card for your systems board.... PCI .... not PCI express... as your board only supports the PCI type .... like this...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dell-OEM-256M...raphics_Video_TV_Cards_TW&hash=item4157861d03

iain.t :major

 

Hi,
As my fellow Geek has just advised me your board also supports AGP also...

similar to this....

http://img857.imageshack.us/img857/597/atiradeon9200256mb.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

iain.t :major

 

I haven't installed any video cards,it has the original one.
When I rebooted it was back to normal.
But my frame rate on the flash media encoder is really bad, real inconsistent.
It had been working fine for many years until today.
So should I try to install a new card or will I be wasting my time?

 

I would check for dust buildup inside the PC, obviously, concentrate on cleaning any crud from the graphics card but don't neglect to clean the CPU heatsink/fan and the main power supply too. A can of compressed air is very good for this task, which should be done outside if the weather's fine.

Check that all connections are good before closing the case.

Then check for a new driver from nVidia or AMD, rather than Windows/MSFT Update.

 

If you decide to upgrade and add a video card, pay close attention to the card's minimum power supply requirements noted on the box or in the system specs. Most decent cards (>256MB DDR2) require a minimum 300-watt power supply (PSU).

The wattage of your current PSU should be marked on the side of it (Dell is notorious for OEM power supplies under 300 watts in their "budget" systems). Also, keep in mind a PSU's maximum output decreases by between 5-10% per year of use. As such, a three year old 300-watt PSU may actually be putting out as little as 210-225 watts.

If in doubt, replace the PSU when you replace the video card. Avoid "no-name" generic brands, stick with something decent in the 350-400 watt range (Antec, Rosewill, CoolerMaster, ThermalTake). The few extra bucks spent on a quality PSU is worth it for increased reliability.

Hope this helps.